Massacre marked with pain, purpose
20th anniversary of Columbine brings reflection, sadness
LITTLETON, Colo. — Community members in suburban Denver marked the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting Saturday by cleaning neighborhoods, volunteering, placing flowers at a memorial and attending a remembrance ceremony.
The events end a threeday slate of somber gatherings honoring the victims and lending support to their families, survivors of the April 20, 1999, attack and the school’s students and staff.
Starting Saturday morning, a steady stream of visitors stopped at a memorial on a hill overlooking the school.
The site includes an oval outer wall of stone with plaques featuring quotes from officials and Columbine students and teachers, and an inner ring designated to the victims: students Cassie Bernal, Steven Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Kechter, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Rachel Scott, Isaiah Shoels, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend and Kyle Velasquez, and teacher Dave Sanders.
People walked silently through, occasionally stopping to hug a friend or wipe away tears.
Sharon and David Hampton brought white roses to the memorial, which opened to the public in 2007. They have lived in the area for more than 30 years and watched three sons graduate from Columbine.
None were enrolled at the time of the massacre; Sharon Hampton was a preschool teacher at a nearby elementary school. On Saturday, she wore a black T-shirt reading “Be kind,” a message she wants people to remember.
“Take time,” she said, as tears came to her eyes. “We all face challenges. Try to understand. We can lean into that each day and help one another.”
Other visitors left cards, bouquets and seed packets for columbines, the Colorado state flower, around the plaques. Sheriff’s deputies patrolled the area on foot and by bike.
Elsewhere, Columbine students, staff and others took part in community service projects, including volunteering at homeless shelters and doing spring cleaning at the homes of senior citizens and elsewhere.
People later gathered for a remembrance ceremony near the school.
Speakers stressed the strength and change that came out of the tragedy. To symbolize that, artist Makoto Fujimura presented a 17th-century Japanese tea bowl that was broken but then mended with gold, making it better and more beautiful.
Pastor James Hoxworth urged anyone still struggling because of the shooting to reach out for help.
The days surrounding the anniversary remain emotionally fraught for survivors of the attack, including hundreds who escaped the building without physical wounds. Some describe their response to the month as an “April fog,” dominated by their memories of the sunny Tuesday two decades ago that shocked the world.
Bailey Rosiere was a second-grader when Columbine came under siege; she was one of hundreds who attended a vigil Friday night at the Columbine Memorial. Despite two decades of distance from the event, she told a local television station that the memory would never leave her.
“It makes it not just an empty or upsetting or sad feeling; it’s more of a deep impact,” she said. “Because you can’t ever forget no matter how young you were.”
Also in the crowd was Sarah Boyd, who came to lay flowers with her husband as she has done every year.
“It can happen anywhere. No one is immune, unfortunately,” Boyd told The Denver Post. She had graduated from Columbine in 1996 and was nearby when the attack began. “I hope someday that people can look back and say these are the things that were made better because of such a terrible day.”
Last week, federal authorities led a manhunt for a Florida teen they described as “infatuated” with the shooting.
On Tuesday, authorities published her name and photo after learning she had traveled to Colorado and bought a gun. They said she had not made specific threats, but dozens of schools, including Columbine, locked their doors.
More than 400,000 kids stayed home Wednesday when schools closed across the metro area. The 18-yearold was found dead of an apparent suicide that morning, about 40 miles from Columbine.
The Columbine perpetrators, who took their own lives during the attack, have inspired cult-like admirers.
Officials overseeing security at Columbine and other schools in Jefferson County acknowledged the dark interest in recent days and warned off those who’d treat the school as a destination.
“We are not a place to come visit if you’re not a student, if you don’t have business there,” John McDonald, security chief for the school district, said Wednesday. “We’re not a tourist attraction, and we’re not a place for you to come and gain inspiration.”
Since the massacre, more than 226,000 students at 233 schools have been affected by school shootings, according to a Washington Post analysis.